KITTY HAWK RECREATION COMMITTEE
MINUTES
Regular Meeting, November 27, 2007 – 6:00 p.m.
Kitty Hawk Municipal Building
AGENDA
1. Call to Order/Attendance
2. Approval of Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes from October 30, 2007
4. Public Comment
5. Old Business
· Recreation Master Plan
· Sandy Run Park Interpretative Signage
6. New Business:
· Election of Recreation Chairman
· Membership Appointment: Request that Council appoint another member to the Recreation Committee
7. Project Updates
· Dusty Rhoads – Heritage Project
· Kitty Hawk Village Multi Use Path
8. Items brought up by Committee Members
9. Adjourn
1. CALL TO ORDER/ATTENDANCE:
Vice Chairman Ferrier called the meeting to order at approximately 6:00 p.m. (Last month was Chairman Joseph Monroe’s last meeting.)
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Ferrier, Vice Chairman
Christine Buckner
James Jackson
Ricky Brake
Dusty Rhoads
Alice Faircloth
COUNCIL LIAISON PRESENT: Councilwoman Emilie Klutz
STAFF PRESENT: Barbara Smith, Secretary
2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Buckner made a motion to approve the Agenda, seconded by Faircloth, approved 6-0.
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3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 30, 2007:
Buckner made a motion to approve the Minutes from October 30, 2007. Seconded by Brake, and approved 6-0.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
5. OLD BUSINESS:
· Recreation Master Plan:
Council Liaison Klutz advised the Recreation Master Plan was accepted at the last Town Council meeting. All of the changes were based on the previous discussions at Council meetings. A public hearing was held but no speakers came forward. Capital Improvements Planning has already begun in the budget process. Council will look at the Recreation Committee Workplan to ensure that it is consistent with the Master Plan. A little re-prioritization may be necessary with some items being moved to mid or long term plans that will not be accomplished when the Committee thought they would be.
Councilwoman Klutz will find out if the revisions can be found online. Most of the changes were caveats which stated what is in the Master Plan is not approved and is subject to Council’s deliberations during the budget process. It should be understood that everything that is in the Plan will not necessarily happen.
The next projects being looked at are:
(1) the bike path from The Woods Road to Wal-Mart, and from Windgrass Circle to the Kill Devil Hills line. It looks like Kitty Hawk will not be able to get into the first phase of what Kill Devil Hills is doing, but it has a second phase at which Kitty Hawk may be able to achieve some cost savings. If not, Kitty Hawk will go ahead and complete that part. Councilwoman Klutz did not have an update as to whether that money has actually made it into the DOT’s budget and plan, however, it is on the agenda for both Town Staff and Council to ensure the money to be appropriated makes it to DOT.
(2) Councilwoman Klutz continued that Council has tasked the Town Staff in the Capital Improvements Workshop to develop the grant application for the continuation of the walkway at Sandy Run Park.
(3) The bike path from U.S. 158 to N.C. 12 on East Kitty Hawk Road was included in a letter from the Town Manager to DOT. There might be some money left over from the Twiford bike path which would have gone into the reserve because it was not spent. Council would need to do a Budget Amendment to allocate it to this bike path.
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Those are the projects that look like they will go forward this year. The Councilwoman advised that work on projects for next year and the year after will most likely begin in late January or early February 2008, because the Budget must be done by June. That is usually when they begin the Workshops, part of which include Board and Committee work plans which they will be looking at for planning for 2008 to 2009.
In other matters, Councilwoman Klutz advised that there has been no response to their letter from DOT about cleaning the sand off the sides of the Beach Road. She was unable to provide a date when Public Works is scheduled to begin removing the debris from Sandy Run Park, but doubted they would begin very soon because the Department is involved in the sand fencing and dune planting project which also must be done in the winter. Buckner thought they had been told that it would be in the winter after the snakes had gone into hibernation, and wanted to ensure it was addressed. Councilwoman Klutz will find out from Public Works Director Midgett if there are plans for it to be done. Buckner suggested bringing a chipper out there and doing it on site. Brake suggested the Town sub-contract it out due to the difficulty and danger of the work. Ferrier noted the top railing near Claudia Larson’s property has been crushed, perhaps by a tree falling on it. Councilwoman Klutz will check with Public Works about it.
Ferrier noted he had family visiting and they were very impressed with the park. He felt it will be even better when the rest of the work is completed. Councilwoman Klutz advised that there has been some discussion about putting in a small fishing pier as part of the project; another amenity would help obtain the grant money.
· Sandy Run Park Interpretative Signage – Please don’t forget to set a time with Holly to discuss your interpretative signage topic. Please call Holly to set up a time.
The members discussed who still needs to meet with Holly. Snakes, birds, and animals have been chosen as topics. Jackson has the information on snakes, and will discuss those signs with Holly.
6. NEW BUSINESS:
· Election of Recreation Chairman.
Faircloth nominated Buckner to be the new Chairwoman, because she works so hard and attends all the meetings. Brake seconded, and the vote was 5-0 to approve (Buckner declined to vote). Buckner is the new Chairwoman of the Recreation Committee.
· Membership Appointment: Request that Council appoint another member to the Recreation Committee.
Councilwoman Klutz explained that she has reviewed the applications of people who have applied to be on the Recreation Committee, and discussed how she will make a nomination at the next Town Council meeting. The new member will begin in January since there is no meeting in December.
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Ferrier clarified that he will continue as Vice Chairman until his appointment expires, which Councilwoman Klutz affirmed, noting that new elections for Chair and Vice Chair would be in July.
7. PROJECT UPDATES:
· Dusty Rhoads – Heritage Project.
Rhoads noted he had nothing new to report because their meeting did not take place. They will most likely not meet until January because of the upcoming holidays. He will meet with Shelby Hines in the meeting room at Town Hall to determine what the cabinets will look like. The USS Kitty Hawk model they are expecting will be placed up front there.
· Kitty Hawk Village Multi-Use Path.
Council Liaison Klutz indicated that a letter had been sent enclosing the last payment of $27,000 from the Town for the completion of that path. DOT is saying that there will be some type of fence constructed at places that are closer to the road, so there may be some additional expense for that path of approximately $10,000. Ferrier noted that he had seen a vehicle parked on the bike path and the driver walking along the path.
Councilwoman Klutz added that they put in a doggie pot at Windgrass Circle. Ferrier said that he had not noticed dog excrement recently, but he knows who owns the dog which dirties the sidewalk. Jackson suggested sending a note to him.
8. ITEMS BROUGHT UP BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
Buckner queried if Jackson had been able to ask if the woodworking class at school wanted to do any projects for Sandy Run Park. He had not understood that the Committee members had asked him to do that, and will go in tomorrow to do that. He commented that the tables the Class makes are very sturdy and well made. Buckner noted that if the class could construct some tables, and the Eagle Scout is willing to do a project, that is two sources to provide tables and benches. Jackson indicated that the Town would need to provide the wood. The members discussed obtaining some lumber donations or a discount from one of the lumber companies. Jackson said that he will know tomorrow and will tell the class the Town will supply the wood.
Ferrier and other members discussed the Outer Banks Marathon that went very well and was an impressive sight; the organizers did an excellent job with the whole thing. It generated a great deal of money spent on the Outer Banks. Ferrier indicated that there is a great deal of talk in the cycling community about holding a race at which they would like to have 200 to 400 riders by lottery. Brake also suggested smaller foot races during the year. Ferrier noted that the Outer Banks is being placed on maps as a sports mecca with everything it has to offer including fishing, running, and the Biathlon. Jackson suggested incorporating a limited bicycle race into Heritage Day which the members discussed, as well as different types of bicycle races and various times
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of the year to hold them. Jackson discussed how much the 5K Race for Heritage Day has increased, and which should become bigger as the Marathon increases.
Ferrier noted that in FY 2005, cycling related expenditures for Dare County was $17.1 million in tourism dollars, which was 3% of the total tourism dollars that came into Dare County. This includes renting bicycles and equipment, hotels, restaurants, etc. The Outer Banks is now on four tour group maps, and is known to be bicycle friendly. Both of the bicycle shops are on national maps now as official mechanic stops.
He thought that Dominion Power is amenable to allowing its property to be used as a staging area. He discussed other cycling events, such as the “Assault on Mt. Mitchell”. Jackson suggested a 25 mile ride with a circuit at the monument which would take 1 to 1½ hours to run. There was no problem with blocking off the right lane of the Bypass for the Marathon runners. Jackson further discussed how the Marathon went. Buckner noted that feedback had indicted that there were fewer residents out cheering on the racers this year than there had been previously.
Buckner inquired about bike racks; Council Liaison Klutz commented that Holly White was to do that but has been out of the office most of this month with professional obligations.
Council Liaison Klutz related that the newspaper reported that the Tourist Bureau has put some money behind the Hatteras bikeway. It is expected to be a multi-year project, with a $100,000 grant from the Tourist Bureau, and they hope to obtain grant money from the State. DOT may possibly add some money. It is an active sub-committee of the Outer Banks Transportation Task Force which is trying to draw the Outer Banks paths together. Ferrier reported that a bicyclist can go from the Corolla horse gate now all the way to the ferry docks. They have really been working on it.
Jackson asked if the Committee would check into having a bicycle race, and Ferrier said that he would check with the bicyclists he knows who have been discussing it to come in and talk about it. They have a great knowledge and experience about how it is being done. The Chesapeake Women’s group has almost 1,000 members and conducts rides all the time. There is a great interest in it, and the cycling community is expanding quite a bit. Ferrier offered to see if he could get these men to come in for the Committee’s February meeting.
There was some discussion about the Transportation Task Force, and its sub-committees. Council Liaison Klutz thought it might be a good idea for Kitty Hawk to be the first with a cycling race for Heritage Day that is small and practical and that would peak people’s interest. It would be a nice thing for the Recreation Committee to do.
Ferrier explained that on December 13th he will be in the hospital for a hip replacement. He will recuperate for 6 to 12 weeks, and will be using a walker for a month. It will be a year before he will be 100% healed. He will be in the hospital 3 days, and return home the following Sunday.
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9. ADJOURN:
Rhoads made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by Jackson. The motion was approved by a vote of 6-0. Time was approximately 7:05 p.m.
______
Bruce Ferrier, Vice Chairman
______
Barbara A. Smith, Secretary
These Minutes were approved at the ______meeting.
Kitty Hawk Recreation Committee Meeting, November 27, 2007